I've got to say that last week at the National Sword of the Lord conference in Walkertown was truly a great time of blessing! Each day the preaching was spirit anointed, and powerful to say the least. The altars were full at each invitation, and yes, the Lord made Himself real to me several times and I made my way to the altar on several occasions. My family and I do appreciate Gethsemane Baptist church for making it possible for our entire family to attend last week. I trust we will see fruit in the coming days as a result of the messages we heard and what the Lord did in our hearts.
I missed posting last Sunday's message, and I have been in a catch up mode ever since returning from the Sword conference. Here is the message preached Sunday night at our church:
Ambassadors for Christ
II Cor. 5:20 " Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. "
The primary requirement to being an ambassador for Christ is that one first has experienced the new birth. They must be saved by the grace of God, Amen? It is then and only then that we qualify as ambassadors, look at verse 17. This verse describes my life as clear as any verse in the entire Word of God. " Therefore if any man be in Christ..." Its not the baptistery that makes you qualified, its not having your name on the membership roll of any church, nor is it being a good person, doing good deeds, etc. ..." but if any man be in Jesus Christ " he is a new creature, literally a new creation!. God takes the old things in our lives before we were saved and casts them aside. ..." old things passed away, all things become new." Amen!
Things I used to find distasteful, I suddenly developed an immediate love for. Things I used to love, I found I hated. Sins, habits, attitudes, desires, they all changed when I got saved. What does that mean? I don't want to cuss anymore, I don't want to lie anymore, I don't want to stay out all night cutting up anymore, I don't want to listen to dirty jokes anymore, I don't want to do wrong anymore- why? God saved me!! Old things passed away, and new things came into being. Can you say that today? Can you say you have been born again? Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power, are you washed in the blood of Jesus? If you have, then you qualify to be an ambassador for Christ.
I. We are in fact ambassadors.
Websters dictionary defines an ambassador as a diplomat agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government as the resident representative of his own government and of often times a temporary diplomatic assignment. That's exactly why we are left here on this earth. We are here to represent someone else. As ambassadors we are to be proud as we would be as ambassadors of our country in a foreign land. We have marching orders from Jesus, you and I have the blessed opportunity to call ourselves ambassadors of Christ and to be about the Lord's business as He went about the Father's business. We take it so lightly today, this matter of representing the Lord Jesus Christ. It is indeed a high calling. God has chosen you and me to be an ambassador for Him. If God saved you just to take you to Heaven, why didn't He go ahead and take you to Heaven when you got saved? Why? He left us here to be ambassadors, because if you will read verses 18 and 19. In verse 18, we see He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We have been reconciled to God by Christ Jesus, He was the go between for us and God. We were alienated by our sin, we could not come to God on our own merit. But Jesus is our Mediator who brought us to God. He reconciled us to God, and now we have been given the ministry of being reconcilers, we are to help bring people to Jesus, we are to go after the lost. Next in verse 19, we see the message of reconciliation, the word of reconciliation. It is the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. His message of love and salvation is the only message that can bring hope and life to a lost and dying world. We are to rescue the perishing and care for the dying, snatch them from sin and the grave. We are to be in the business of trying to reach the lost like Jesus did when He was on earth. He gave us the Great commission, He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. This is the main thing of the church of Jesus Christ. Everything else you do in life is of little importance if you fail to do the main thing, and the main thing is that we represent Jesus Christ, as ambassadors.
II. We are ( Christ's ) ambassadors.
If you were to receive a call from the president of the US, and the president said, " I want you to represent me and the US in some foreign land, " we would be thrilled and probably shocked. Yet, that really is nothing compared to Who we represent as Christians. You and I have been called to represent the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He has given us our daily needs. He has given us Eternal life! He is the Creator, He is the Christ of the Bible. He is the answer for all of life's problems. But the most important thing about this verse is that we are Christ's ambassadors!
" Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,..." Oh yes we represent our church as we go into the world, and many will get an opinion of our church by how you behave and by what you say. But more than that we are His followers in this world. We are His disciples. We represent Him, don't ever forget that.
III. We have a message to deliver.
( Vs. 21 ) This is where we fail. Jesus became the sin offering. In the Old Testament, Lev.chapter 4, the lamb was slain, this was the sin offering, and if the offering was satisfactory, God forgave. Jesus became sin, He hung on the cross in shame. He shed His precious blood for you and me. Yet through His death and resurrection came life. The message of the resurrection of Christ from the grave was a transforming power that changed His disciples. They became real ambassadors. They did what we ought to be doing today. They carried His message of love and forgiveness to a lost and dying world. There is no greater message in this world. Are we ashamed of being Christians or are we ambassadors for Christ? The Bible says, that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Are we ashamed of the One who loved us and gave His life for us?
May we be Ambassadors for Christ, we have a message to deliver to a lost and dying world. Ask the Lord to make you His ambassador. Hand out a tract today. Give your testimony to someone, invite someone to church this week. Give the plan of salvation to some lost person, whether it is a neighbor, co-worker, family member or friend. Tell someone about Jesus today!
Amen!
Pastor Taylor
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